At least 14 people were killed in the western Mexican state of Michoacan -- including 10 slain during a shootout with soldiers , authorities said Friday .

The shootout took place in Patzcuaro .

`` We are aware of 10 deaths , '' said Gen. Manuel Garcia Ruiz , public security secretary in Michoacan .

In a separate shootout in La Piedad , another person was killed while an officer was wounded , he said .

Finally , authorities confirmed three men had died in the community of Santo Domingo . Their bodies were found Friday morning in a vehicle riddled by bullets , according to police .

It was not immediately clear what , or who , was behind the violence , though Michoacan has long been a hotbed of drug-related activity .

Various cartels , including the Knights Templar , La Familia Michoacana and Los Zetas , are known to operate in the area .

Nearly 43,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 , according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration .

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The dead include 10 people killed in a shootout with soldiers

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The bodies of three men are found in a vehicle riddled by bullets

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One person was killed and an officer wounded in another shootout

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The violence was in the western state of Michoacan , a hotbed of drug-related activity